organic / sentient

          Anxiety is a demon Lapis has long acclimatized to; a sickly weight atop her crown the demands she bow, that whispers deceit and uncertainty against the shell of her ear. She wishes she could say she has grown stronger, resilient against it’s flighty temptation in the several millennia she has suffered but, no such will has grown in the curve of it’s cruel maw. However, there is something to be said for the course of actions she has taken in the span of a day; of a few hours. Something to remark upon as she stood tall against Diamonds.

          Strange then, how facing the machinations of her horrors seems somehow lesser than the fate she meets now as green light floods into the dark of Steven’s dilapidated house. Lapis finds herself on the balls of her feet in a breath, forces her lips to curve into what she hopes amounts to a friendly smile as she closes the few feet of distance between her and Peridot. It’s harder than she anticipates as her stomach churns, has her arms cross over her chest while light twists and builds into the shape of her friend.

          With a few new upgrades, as she would put it.

          At the sound of Peridot’s voice, familiar and comforting, safe, Lapis feels some of her anxiety instinctively melt. It’s simple then, to fall into the easy camaraderie she had abandoned; easier to step close to the smaller gem and let her hands admire the bristled points to Peridot’s hair. Guilt gnaws at her chest, makes her feel every part thief as she steals this idle affection, but Lapis has done far worse than this. Instead of stewing she lets fondness quirks her lips, has her eyes go warm and soft. Her hands fall onto the vest next, tugs playfully at the long collar before she finally speaks. “ You look like a dork Peridot. ” There is no callousness to the flowing and lyrical quality of her soft voice, but her mouth curves into a teasing smirk all the same. “ But… it fits you like a glove. ”

          Lapis knows there is perhaps too much to talk about between them, finds herself giving into the easier route Peridot has granted her; finds herself falling into that too familiar choice of taking. She reluctantly releases her grip on Peridot’s collar, crosses her arms over her chest as she looks out towards the shattered windows to Steven’s house; to where the sound of deep voices boom. “ I didn’t get a chance to… I thought if I had stayed poofed for too long I—…  ” She draws her attention back to Peridot, faces that green gaze with a smile that doesn’t quite meet her eyes. “ I guess all this means the Temporary Crystal Gems have full membership now. ” Her eyes fall between them, briefly glances at the billow of her skirt before affixing themselves on the wooden slats beneath their feet. “ I’m not too sure where I’d put a Star but… It would be nice to have this Diamond free of me. ”

❝  ━━  ✧    So close together and yet so far apart; distance that for a while was entirely physical. Now, she wonders if emotional too. How long had discontent grow within Lapis, quiet and seething? Had she ever truly been happy within the short span of their cohabitation, or had she always yearned to be far away? Her face is as much relief to see as it’d been, but something fretfully like doubt creeps in too. Peridot does not care for such things; working with absolutes and numbers offers stability. Navigating interpersonal relationships is an altogether trickier business, more prone to failure and suffering from a number of unforeseen variables. 

Her mouth quirks and then turns doubtfully.  ❛   No, it fits me like clothes. My gloves fit like gloves.   ❜ Or maybe it is another earth saying she has not quite caught onto yet; Camp Pining Hearts is as much research as it is entertainment. The things she’s learned about the odd lingo humans adopt for seemingly no reason other than to be difficult!  

The view out the window is not any more comforting.While in a gem there exists a vague awareness of surroundings, but no detail or minutiae. Everything painted in watercolors; all smeared images and no real substance. She would have doubted her own recollection of Lapis returning if she didn’t stand here now. Memory and dreams are both as equally traitorous and inefficient sources of data. Peridot has had enough ‘dreams’ like this, though certainly none that have begun or ended in such a way.

The Diamonds coming back are a nightmareish reality she’d expected and been brave enough to face with her friends, but hoped to avoid. 

A little easier, now, that Lapis has come back. And if she plans to...  ❛   Stay!   ❜ she blurts out before common sense hits. Peridot barrels on before she can berate herself for how tellingly she speaks.  ❛   I mean, does that mean you’re staying then? You should just in case those clods decide to step out of line! Did you see their faces? I think you and me make a pretty good team!  ❜

❝ ━━ ✧  Silly, that something so easily explained and already dead can be so breathtaking. The sight of the night sky should be no more revolutionary than everything else on her daily itinerary. A common enough occurrence while aboard a ship, and yet there is something alluring about them now. She considers that it is her vantage point that so changes things now: just short of being pressed against Lapis and surrounded by grass. 

When she sits up again she knows she’ll have mud and twigs and dew sticking to her uncomfortably, but the messiness is part of the earthly charm of it all. So far from the sterilized and standardized world she’d once been accustomed to. 

In fact, she rolls around in the grass just to clearly define herself as crystal gem and earthling and home. She isn’t just staring at the stars when she answers:   ❛   It’s a spectacular view.   ❜

send 📂 for a useless headcanon

📂

 Peridot is unused to thinking of herself in the singular. Not that she cannot be focused on her own self-interests or wish to be ahead of other Peridots in a performance capacity, but when asked questions concerning her feelings and favorites and wants, she often is unsure of how to answer. 

For instance when asked what her favorite anything, even as innocent as favorite flower, she would try to assess the situation and the person asking and answer how she thinks they would want her to ask. So if she already knows that person’s favorite flower is daisies, she would say daisies too.

📂

Speaking of, her favorite ‘flower’ is actually weeds! 

📂

❛   Ah-a!   ❜ is her victory cry, grinning quite proudly before noticing the familiar blue form that watches her. She should have expected Lapis, waiting, but had both hoped and feared it wouldn’t be the case. 

There’s so much to say, but she is woefully unprepared. Easier to instead to point out the improvements in her new attire.  ❛   Lapis! Uh - what do you think? I thought a star on me might be a bit overdone, so I figured this would be an adequate substitute!  ❜ Her hands, now gloved with fingers exposed, go to shape themselves around the new points of her hair. The vest is given a tug next to showcase; the darkest green of them all and sleeveless.  ❛  Not much point in changing what functions quite nicely already.  ❜

Translation: she likes her socks.